1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to techniques of displaying a video content on screen with an additional content overlay such as an advertising content (or “ad content”) overlay on the video content.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a result of recent developments, a digital video content such as a broadcast television program can be delivered to viewers with various techniques which cover not only terrestrial digital broadcasting, but also streaming media techniques and Video-On-Demand (VOD) casting techniques via the Internet and cables.
More specifically, techniques of distributing a video content to viewers generally include broadcasting and webcasting. In this regard, the term “video content” can be used in a narrow sense to exclude an audio content, but can be also used in a broad sense to also include an audio content associated with the video content. The term “broadcasting” can be used in a narrow sense to only refer to distribution of a video content via radio wave or cable to an unspecified large number of viewers, but can be also used in a broad sense to refer to webcasting in which a video content is distributed to viewers in the form of a media stream, via wireless or wired IP (Internet Protocol) network. Hereinafter, throughout the specification, for ease of description, the term “broadcasting” may be used to cover all possible types of distributing a video content to viewers.
In many situations, traditionally, an ad content (e.g., a commercial message (CM)) is inserted into a video content (i.e., a video signal) at the beginning of the video content (i.e., before the feature content within the video content begins), or is inserted into breaks or gaps between divided segments of the video content, for example.
Survey results demonstrate that, in these situations, a considerable number of viewers tend to interrupt the viewing of such a video content at the mere sight of the ad content at the beginning of the video content, or tend to skip the ad content within the video content while the video content is played back by a digital video recorder which has recorded the video content that was broadcast.
For this reason, there is a need to present an additional content such as an ad content to viewers in a more effective manner, depending on a selected format of a video content to be delivered.
There is a known technique of displaying a video content along with an ad content overlay (or “ad overlay”) on the video content (see, for example, Non-Patent Document No. 1 listed below). In an example, such an ad overlay is composed using a displayable overlay application such as “TV Widget.” This technique, however, is directed only to presentation to viewers of information which is independent of and irrelevant to both the context of a video content displayed together with the ad overlay on a display screen (e.g., a television screen or video screen), and image characteristics (e.g., color tone) with which the video content is displayed on the display screen.
Aside from the relevancy to video distribution technique, there is another known technique of presenting an ad content to a viewer, in response to the viewer's click on a selected object within a video content displayed on a display screen, along with the ad content relevant to the context of the selected object (see, for example, Patent Document No. 1 listed below).
There is still another known technique of presenting an ad content to a viewer who is viewing a video content, in a timely manner for the viewer's effective viewing (see, for example, Patent Document No. 2 listed below).
There is yet still another known technique, as webcasting (i.e., distributing a video content via the Internet), for presenting to a viewer an ad content relevant to the context of a webpage that the viewer is viewing.
There is an additional known technique of inserting an ad content into a webpage displayed on a display screen at a pre-designated location (see, for example, Non-Patent Document No. 1 listed below). This technique allows a server to accept online requests from many advertisers for insertion of ad contents, each of which is composed in a given format.
On the other hand, a website operator provides advance knowledge to potential advertisers through a website managed and published by the website operator, in order to make the advertisers to learn that there are some candidate regions into which each advertiser can insert a desired ad content.
Thereafter, each time a user views the website that the user needs, the server selects an ad content having a best match with the user, based on the user's profile, and presents the selected or tailored ad content to the user, on the website in one of the candidate regions which has previously been selected by a particular advertiser on the website.
In one example, a user's profile is information on such as the geographical address of a user's home, which can be obtained from a user's unique IP (Internet Protocol) address. This technique, which is for selection of a relevant ad content based on a user's profile and presentation of it to the user, is referred to as “targeted advertising.”